Tag: Western Balkans

World News

(Analysis) Bosnia and Herzegovina: How Far is Candidate Status from EU Membership?

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With the achievement of candidate status in December 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina hit a major milestone in its relationship with the EU. However, conflictual ethnic politics and an overly complex institutional system burden the country’s ability to further advance on the path of EU integration. What is the state of affairs of the Bosnian accession process? What other efforts are needed for the country to be functionally able to join the EU?

BA3G - Bosnia Across 3 Generations, World News

25 Years After a Conflict: Helping the Youth in Bosnia

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Dubioza Kolektiv, a popular Bosnian avant-garde group would say – or rather, sing – that Bosnia-Erzegovina is in Europe “just in Eurosong”. By that, meaning that the country is only welcome as a full-fledged member of Europe when this benefits the image of a multicultural, welcoming continent. But when the lights of Eurovision go off, Bosnia is likely to disappear from the public discourse. If anything, it may come up in conversations simply as the place where “there once was a war”.

In part, this is understandable. How is it possible that a European country could be majority Muslim? Why does it stubbornly refuse to behave like a “normal” democracy? And yet, no matter how divided or unstable, Bosnia is clearly a member of the wobbly, colorful European family.

World News

[Analysis] How to Counter China’s Vaccine Diplomacy in the Balkans

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Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, China has developed a ‘mask diplomacy’ aimed at the Western Balkans; later evolved into the so-called vaccine diplomacy.

Can the European Union counter China’s ambitions in its eastern neighbourhood?

World News

The Geopolitical, Economic, and Environmental Impacts of TurkStream

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On January 1, 2021, at a televised event held near Novi Sad, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the opening ceremony for the Serbian section of the BalkanStream natural-gas pipeline, part of a larger project known as TurkStream which delivers Russian gas to Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary.

World News

[Analysis] EU-China Agreement on Investment: Impact on the Western Balkans

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The European Union and the Western Balkans share the same history and future. Therefore, the Chinese interest in the Balkans has long been perceived as an intrusion. Yet, on December 30, 2020, the European Union and China reached an historic Agreement on investment and trade. What does this rapprochement between the two rival suitors mean for the Western Balkans? For sure, the EU-China Agreement is controversial. But it may show a promising opening, by China, to a rules-based economic system. In Eastern Europe, this means that China could be brought to respect the EU 2030 agenda, especially for what concerns the green transition and digitalization.